Tying Up the Loose Ends
by Kinetic Sleeper
Summary: After two years, Hina is back from France. She learns that many things have changed during her absence...not all of them good. ON HIATUS.
1. Chapter 1

**Anyone reading this who for some reason hasn't read PB...GO READ! It's the cutest series ever, and should only take a couple of hours to read. Just type 'Read Penguin Brothers online' in your preferred search engine and you should be able to find it.**

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Chapter 1  
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Mishima Hina stepped out of the airport, breathing in the warm, summer air of Japan. It had been just over two years and she had missed her home country- or, more specifically, she had missed the people in it. She smiled to herself, thinking of all the friends she had left behind when she went to France. She had missed everyone- Ruu-chan, Yutaka, Koshiba, Isshiki, even Nishizaki. Behind her, her uncle Kyouichi wheeled a heavy suitcase.

"Hina, go get us a taxi." he said in French.

"Kyou-chan, we're back in Japan, wrong language."

"Ah, yea."

* * *

Isshiki Shoui stared out the window of his rented flat. It was a tiny place, with only one small bedroom. He could not afford to a bigger place, as he didn't want to have a roommate and was really quite poor. Which might seem odd, seeing has he came from a rich background, but he had promised Hina that he would live on using his own strength. He was determined not to have to beg for anything from his bastard of a father. All of a sudden, his mobile phone rang. Seeing the caller ID, he sighed as he picked it up.

"What do you want, Nishizaki?"

"If you're gonna be rude, I won't tell you my news."

"Fine." Isshiki hung up the phone, only to pick it up again when it rang two seconds later.

"HEY, IS THAT ANY WAY TO TREAT ME, THE WONDERFUL PERSON WHO IS BRINGING YOU GREAT NEWS?"

"Just get to the point."

"Hmph, you haven't changed at all. Anyway, the monkey is back." A moment of silence.

"Hey, you still there, _Shoui-kun_?" Isshiki ignored the jibe.

"Hina's back?"

"Yea. Aren't you grateful to me for-" Isshiki hung up once again. This time, he didn't bother picking up when his phone rang one more time.

* * *

Nishizaki Kaito looked at the phone in his hand, feeling very disgruntled. Beside him, Iijima Yutaka snorted.

"You should have expected that, Kaito. It's Isshiki we're talking about after all."

"Bastard. He really pisses me off, with that emotionless voice of his and that constantly calm expression..."

"He only uses that expression in front of you. He does it to prove his superiority over you, because he, unlike you, knows how to keep his cool."

"WHAT THE HELL, AS IF THAT GUY IS BETTER THAN ME, I COULD TAKE HIM ON ANY DAY!"

"You see what I mean? He knows how to keep his cool." Nishizaki scowled.

"Yea, yea, whatever. But wait, how come we knew that the monkey's back, but Isshiki didn't? I'd have thought he'd be the first person to find out."

"I guess Ruu didn't get a chance to tell him. I think the only other person she told was Koshiba."

* * *

Usami Ruu and Koshiba Tetsuta sat in a cafe, a hot chocolate in front of both of them.

"So...Piyoko is really back?"

"Yep. She gave me a ring an hour ago, telling me she had just landed."

"I see." Koshiba smiled, his gaze losing focus as his mind flew back to three years ago, when he had first met Hina. Suddenly, he snapped back to the present and focused his attention on the girl in front of him.

"Ruu-chan...about Hina..."

"Tetsu-kun. It was my decision to confess to you, even though I knew you liked Hina-chan. Don't worry about my feelings now, I can deal with it. Just remember, I'll be waiting for you, if you're feelings ever change." Koshiba smiled once again.

"Thank you, Ruu-chan. Anyway, now that Piyoko's back...where is she going to be staying, do you know? Her old house?"

"I don't know if it's her old house, but I have her address. She said she wanted to see everyone tomorrow, if possible."

"Yea... She came at the perfect time, right at the start of Golden Week*****."

"Mm. I'm looking forward to seeing her. I wonder if she's changed at all...and there's so much to catch up on, what with Nishizaki-kun and Yuta-chan getting back together and Isshiki getting his own apartment."

"Yea, but we wouldn't even _have _to be catching up on all this stuff if she had at least kept in touch with us! How come Ruu-chan is the only one who got letters from her?"

"Tetsu-kun, haven't we gone over this many times before? Hina-chan moved around a lot in France, you know how her uncle is. She's been so busy these two years, I only got a letter from her once every two months- I couldn't even send her a reply, because by the time I did, she had already moved."

"That damn ossan, taking away Piyoko..." Koshiba mumbled.

***Golden Week, for those who don't know, is a series of holidays in Japan, usually starting in the first week of May.**

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Hina and her uncle dragged their luggage into the house, breathing in the musty air.

"This place needs some airing out." Kyouichi said.

"Not just that, it needs a thorough clean!" Hina said, noticing the dust all over the place. Kyouichi smiled at the energetic girl next to him.

"Sixteen hours on a plane, Hina, and you're still not tired."

"What are you talking about, I'm dead tired, but you know I hate dust, Kyou-chan."

"Yea, but we'll clean later, ok? Right now, I want some sleep."

"Kyou-chan! It's only two in the afternoon, stop acting like an old man!"

"Hey, I'm only 32, and it feels like four in the morning for me."

"It's called jet-lag, and it'll take you ages to get over it if you sleep now."

"Mmn, ok, wake me up in a couple of hours, Hina."

"Kyou-chan!"

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Hey there! Sorry for the short chapter...I'll try making them longer, if I can =). Ok, so I know that I'm supposed to be working on another story...But for some reason I just felt like writing on this =D. Don't worry, I'll still write my other one...In fact, I might finish that one before working on this again, so yea. **

**I may go back and change the genres for this later, cuz I'm not quite sure how I'm gonna write this. But, I have a vague of idea of how the story is gonna go...maybe...So, please read and review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**I am truly sorry for the late update! School happened to me, and you know how that twists and warps us students' lives...But anywayz, on with the story!**

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Chapter 2**

Hina walked into the kitchen and sniffed appreciatively. Kyouichi's back was to her as he stood at the stove, cooking crepes (two years in France, and that was the only thing he learnt to make). Coming up behind him, Hina greeted him cheerfully,

"Ohayo*****, Kyou-chan."

"Mornin', Hina. Crepes for breakfast, as you can see."

"Sounds good. Neh, Kyou-chan, I'm gonna go out for a while after breakfast, so try and do a bit of unpacking and cleaning before I come back, ok?"

"Yea, yea..." Hina grinned and dug into her crepes.

***Ohayo means good morning in Japanese**

* * *

Koshiba sat on the low wall surrounding the pond in the park he was in. Next to him, Nishizaki sat in silence, glaring at nothing as he thought about that stupid Isshiki who thought he was better than him... On Koshiba's other side, Ruu and Yutaka were speculating as to how Hina may or may not have changed- or, to be more precise, Ruu was speculating while Yutaka nodded and made comments at intervals. For quite a while after Hina's departure two years ago, she had been stubbornly insisting that she and Hina were _not _friends, but had given up trying to pretend she held no feelings of friendship for Hina after multiple teary outbursts on Ruu's part. Unsurprisingly, she and Ruu had grown very close and it was rare to see on without the other- except when Nishizaki managed to drag Yutaka away, feeling rather put-out at having to bring along his girlfriend's best friend on almost every date. Being Nishizaki, he had voiced this opinion on many occasions, almost causing another break-up between the two, but after coming to a compromise, their relationship was now as strong as ever.

Koshiba looked up as Ruu let out a gasp and quickly got to her feet. He looked up in time to catch a glimpse of Hina before she was glomped by Ruu. He slowly rose to his feet as Nishizaki and Yutaka joined Ruu. As he walked towards her, he struggled to hide the huge smile that was spreading over his face, his hands buried deep in his pockets from habit. Hina was already happily talking to the other three as he reached the small group, Nishizaki's loud voice almost drowning hers out as he welcomed back 'the monkey' in his usual manner. However, Hina turned to him at once as he joined the others.

"Koshiba." she smiled. Koshiba grinned back at her, his sharp eyes not missing the almost undetectable wariness and anxiousness on her face. It appeared that Hina had not forgotten his confession while she was in France.

"Piyoko...you...you...YOU DIDN'T EVEN WRITE ONE BLOODY LETTER TO ME! How come Ruu-chan was the only one who got anything from you?"

"Ah, I'm really sorry about that, Koshiba, but you see- OW!" Koshiba had taken captive of her cheeks and was giving them a thorough pinching.

"You think a simple sorry is enough for me to forgive you? You better think again, Piyoko!"

Hina gave him a kick in the right place.

"What the hell, Koshiba, at least listen to me! Stupid dummy, first thing you do when you see me is something stupid like that..." she growled out as Koshiba collapsed to the ground, clutching his...precious area. Suddenly, Hina looked up.

"Where's Isshiki?" she asked. Nishizaki spoke, a dark scowl on his face,

"Dunno, idiot didn't show up. Probably mooching around his apartment, acting all superior, as if that stupid guy could ever be better than me..." the last few words were said in an indistinct mutter. Hina looked at the others in surprise,

"Isshiki got an apartment? You mean, he's moved out of his dad's house? Where'd he get the money?"

"He moved out about three months after you left. Apparently college wasn't the only thing he had been saving up for. The whole time you've been gone, his secret mantra (though he'll never admit it) has been 'I can't let Hina come back and see me as a weakling, I have to become strong'... Or something like that." Yutaka replied. Hina looked at her, amazed.

"Wow, Yutaka, didn't know you could talk so much. And how come you seem to know so much about Isshiki all of a sudden?" Yutaka grinned.

"Well, after Kaito and I started going out again, I started having to hang around Isshiki a lot more, due to this idiot's persistence in trying to make him show some sort of emotion..."

"Huh?"

"What?"

"Repeat the first few words you said."

"Uh... After Kaito and I started going out again-"

"WHAT?"

* * *

It was late at night when Hina finally let herself into her house. She walked into Kyouichi's room and sighed when she found him asleep in his chair. Deciding she couldn't be bothered trying to wake him up, she went to her own bedroom and attempted to start unpacking everything. Her mind wandered as she worked, dwelling on Isshiki's absence today. After meeting the three at the park, they had all gone around visiting Hina's old friends. More and more people had become part of their group until it had soon grown into a party of well over thirty people. At this point, someone had had the bright idea of going karaoke and the rest of the day had passed in singing and joking all around. The only person missing from it all was Isshiki, whom Hina had decided against visiting, having no illusions as to how he would react if his apartment had been invaded by a bunch of hyper youngsters. She soon gave up trying to figure out why he hadn't turned up, making up her mind to visit him on her own tomorrow...once she had found out his address.

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So there we go =). As you may or may not have noticed, I've decided not to name the chapters anymore: mostly cos I'm lazy and can't be bothered thinking of good names xD. Once again, sorry for the short chapters, but for some reason, I'm not really getting any inspiration, so it's a struggle to write the chapters... And I know that it's moving along pretty slowly, but like I said, no inspiration. Once that happens, I promise things will get going =). In the mean time, perhaps some reviews might coax my imagination back to life =D?**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Isshiki shifted in his bed, wincing slightly as a stray spring dug into his back. The scars they bore had stopped burning long ago, but occasionally he could still feel that phantom pain as his father stood over his 9-year-old body, a hot poker in his hands as he hit his back repeatedly... Isshiki shivered, pushing the memories out of his mind as he got out of bed and proceeded to get himself ready for the day ahead. The loud ringing of the doorbell disturbed the silence of the apartment just as Isshiki slipped his shirt on. Puzzled, he paused momentarily as he tried to think who would be visiting so early in the morning. Shaking his head, he opened his door to find none other than Hina standing outside it. A bright smile graced his features and he took a small step forward, almost as if to embrace her, before he remembered himself and composed his face into its usual stoic expression.

"Hina." he said, that one word full of a warmth he hadn't known he could feel. Hina looked up at his tall figure, smiling.

"Isshiki! It's been so long...obviously." she returned, slightly awkwardly. For a long moment, the two looked at each other, taking in the changes their two year separation had wrought in each other. Finally, Hina looked up, smiling mischievously.

"Aren't you going to invite me in?" she asked, laughing. Isshiki looked slightly startled, and moved aside to let her through the door.

"How have you been, Isshiki? It's nice to see you've got your own apartment. Oh, in case you're wondering, I got your address off Yutaka." Hina said, looking slightly guilty, unsure whether or not Isshiki would be mad that she had simply barged into his apartment with no prior notice. Dense as she was, Hina was the only one of all her friends who didn't know how deeply in love with her Isshiki was. This was probably a good thing, considering how she had handled Koshiba's confession- with a rather harsh rejection and a lot of tears. No one wanted to think about how Hina would handle two love rivals.

Hina looked around the apartment, taking it all in. The place was surprisingly messy, with books and clothes all over the place. Hina looked at Isshiki in some shock, wondering how such clean freak could have such a messy apartment. Isshiki caught her look and read it correctly.

"Just because I can't abide dirt doesn't mean I don't mind mess so much. Well... I do, but..." Here Isshiki broke off, looking embarrassed.

"But what?" asked Hina, curious.

"neverlivedwithoutamaid." Isshiki mumbled.

"What?"

"I said...I've...never lived without a maid." A short silence followed Isshiki's words before Hina burst out laughing.

"You mean...on top of being a kanazuchi*****... You don't even know how to clean up after yourself?" Isshiki gave her a bonk on the head, a small vein popping on his forehead.

"OW! Geez Isshiki, you're just as bad as Koshiba!" Isshiki suddenly looked surprised.

"Koshiba? What do you mean? Have you already met him?"

"Yea, I met him and everyone else yesterday. That's why I came to your apartment, because YOU didn't show up at the park."

"The park?"

"Yea... Didn't you know we were meeting there?"

"No."

"You mean...Nishizaki didn't tell you?"

"No." Hina's expression transformed into a look of fury.

"That Nishizaki...I should have known he'd forget..." she mumbled darkly. Finally, she looked up.

"Well anyway, you and I are going to spend the day catching up!" she said brightly. Isshiki looked at her, his face inscrutable.

"I can't. I've got uni." Hina's face fell.

"Oh yea, I forgot you aren't on holidays...What time do you have to go?"

"I should have left ten minutes ago, but then you showed up."

"Oh right... Sorry. Well, I guess I'll be off then." Isshiki watched as Hina made her way to his apartment door, feelings of disappointment and longing mixing within him.

"Hina... Wait. Maybe I'll... take the day off today." Hina looked back at him.

"Are you sure? We could always meet up another time, Isshiki."

"It's ok. I'm the best student in my year anyway, they'll look the other way for me." he said, without a hint of self-consciousness. Hina shook her head, muttering 'Same as usual.' to herself.

***Kanazuchi = A person who can't swim**

* * *

Koshiba stood outside Isshiki's apartment building, scowling to himself. '_You are seriously turning into a stalker, Tetsuta..._' he thought wryly to himself. Koshiba had found himself a part time job at a small grocery store half a year ago. After graduating a month back, he had started working full time. He had been about to go on his break when he spotted Hina a little way off. He had rushed to catch up to her, only to stop as he realised which direction she was going. Unable to help himself, he had dogged her footsteps to Isshiki's apartment and was now standing outside the building, cursing himself for being such a jealous idiot. After all, it wasn't as if he could do much about it; if Hina wanted to meet Isshiki, he should just let her. Hina wasn't his alone, he knew that, but he longed for the days when it had just been Hina and him, the amazing Sun Partners. He and Hina had worked hard to bring down the black and white system in their old school, Tokiwa Secondary Academy and their experiences had caused the two of them to become very close friends. Koshiba had been afraid the he had lost that friendship after he had confessed to Hina, but very little had changed between the two of them, apart from the fact that Hina was a little more aware of how much time she spent with other guys, in or out of Koshiba's company.

Koshiba leant against the wall of the building, debating what to do. He had only half an hour of his break left, but he was unwilling to do nothing and leave. As stood thinking, the front door of the building opened, revealing Hina and Isshiki. Startled, Koshiba darted into the shop next door. He watched slightly sadly as the two walked past, Hina chatting happily as Isshiki smiled softly. Wistfully, he wished he had something with which to hear their conversation, before he slapped himself mentally. Shaking his head, Koshiba waited a few minutes to let Hina and Isshiki get ahead of him before leaving the store and making his way back to his own shop.

Hina and Isshiki sat in a small cafe, Hina still questioning Isshiki about the events of the past two years and recapping her own time in France.

"So how long have Nishizaki and Yutaka been together now?"

"Dunno... About a year and a half, maybe? It was only a few months after you left. Apparently Usami got annoyed at how Yutaka and Nishizaki kept avoiding each other, so she finally dragged them both into a broom cupboard and locked the door from the outside. It's amazing what that girl can do when she puts her mind to it..." Hina looked at him, smiling a small smile.

"You've...really changed, Isshiki."

"What?"

"You're...much more open now. You smile, you laugh, you talk, you even seem to take an interest in others' affairs. The old you would never have bothered to find out how Nishizaki and Yutaka got together, neither would you ever have known Ruu-chan." Isshiki shrugged.

"I'm learning how to live life, Hina. You were the one who gave me the first lesson, remember? After you left, I lost my teacher, so the others...stepped in, I guess. And the reason I know about Nishizaki and Yutaka is because she's the one who told me about it. Yutaka and I... We became friends, you could say."

"Yutaka, huh? Never thought you and her would hit it off."

"Stranger things have happened."

"Yea..." Hina trailed off, looking at Isshiki speculatively. She noted the slightly far-off look he held, the smile he wore as he spoke of Yutaka, and an unbidden thought came to her mind; Could it be...that Isshiki...was in love with Yutaka?

Isshiki glanced at Hina, in time to see pity and sadness in her eyes. He frowned slightly.

"What are you thinking of, Hina?" he asked.

"Huh? Oh...nothing much." Isshiki grinned (if that's possible for him).

"You've been living it up in France, you must have some good stories to tell. Have you actually finished high school? You and your uncle were moving about heaps, right? How did you go to school?"

"Yea, Kyou-chan was basically on tour in France, doing art shows all over the place. I decided to go around with him, mostly because of language problems, so I finished high school through distance education."

"I see... So you basically spent two years bumming around Europe and having the time of your life." Hina laughed.

"It wasn't all fun and games. In fact, for a month I...didn't do much." she finished lamely. Isshiki looked at her sharply.

"For a month you what? Don't give me that look Hina, that's not what you were going to say." Hina sighed.

"It's not that big a deal. I just...fell in love with the wrong guy." Isshiki almost broke the coffee cup in his hand as he squeezed it tightly.

"You _what_?" Hina sighed again.

"I can't believe I'm telling you this... I'll just make a long story short. There was a guy. I fell in love with him and we went out for three weeks before I caught him cheating on me, like all French guys. I was depressed for a month before Kyou-chan snapped me out of it. Now I'm completely over him, though it took a while, and am absolutely fine. End of story." Isshiki looked at Hina, his Hina, multiple feelings swirling through him. Disbelief, that somebody had taken his Hina, jealousy at the fact that Hina had fallen in love with someone else, and pure, unadulterated rage that he had had the audacity to hurt her. He felt a burning sensation on his hands, and looked down to find that he had, in fact, managed to break the coffee cup. Across the table, Hina looked at him in some alarm, fear spiking through her as she saw the fury in his eyes. She wasn't afraid that Isshiki would hurt her, but she had never seen him looking so... There was no other word for it, ugly.

"Isshiki, calm down, it's all over now! And you better get some ice on your hands." Hina watched as waitresses who had been hovering nearby the whole time, throwing Hina envious looks, rushed to their table to mop up the coffee and lead Isshiki towards the sink behind the counter to wash his hands. Minutes later, Isshiki walked back towards her, his hands bound tightly in bandages by the overzealous waitresses.

"Hina, sorry, but I have to go back now. I have a lot of work to do." Hina nodded, getting up from her chair.

"Yea, I understand. Sorry for keeping you so long, Isshiki. I'll see you later, then."

* * *

Isshiki sat at his desk, back in his apartment. He stared at the piece of paper in front of him, unable to concentrate, his mind constantly on thoughts of revenge and torture. He was startled out of his reverie when the doorbell rang for the second time that day. He opened it to find Koshiba looking at him determinedly and slightly guiltily.

"I saw you and Hina in the cafe today. What happened?"

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There you have it =). That has GOT to be the longest chapter I've ever written...I hope you guys are happy, I stayed up till 3 am writing it =P. Reviews are much loved, and if anybody has ANY plot ideas, feel free to send, because to be honest, I'm not **_**entirely **_**sure where I'm going with this...I have a couple of ideas, but I'm having trouble incorporating them...Oh, and I'm sorry if the story is developing too slowly and I go into random tangents during it...Like I said before, it's mostly due to lack of inspiration, so I keep going into random, unimportant stuff...**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Isshiki stared down at the short blonde before him.

"What do you mean, what happened?" he asked calmly, "And how come you saw us at the cafe? You stalking us or something?" Koshiba blushed slightly, as that had been _exactly_ what he was doing earlier, but this second sighting really had been pure coincidence. After getting back the store from his break, Koshiba had been so distracted and useless that the manager, deciding that he must be sick, let him off early. Koshiba had gratefully accepted and had passed by the cafe on his route home. He had spotted Hina and Isshiki through the cafe window on the opposite side of the street, and had planned on simply walking on, but it was at this moment that Isshiki had...if not _run_, at least walked very quickly out of the cafe, his face not quite as expressionless as usual. Moments later, Hina had rushed outside in the opposite direction, her face pale and a frown on her face. For quite a while, Koshiba had simply stood where he was, debating what action he would take next- he could go to Hina's house and try to demand some answers, but he doubted very much he would get any. He could go to Isshiki's apartment and demand answers, but he felt he was less likely to get any there. Or he could do nothing, but that was out of the question. Finally, he decided that Isshiki's was probably the less dangerous his choices and had promptly made his way there.

"I wasn't stalking you, I was just on my way home when I saw you two. You both left that cafe in quite a rush, you looking like you'd seen your worst enemy kissing Hina." Isshiki startled at this, his face settling into a scowl, a number of veins popping on his forehead.

"It's a lot worse than that." He growled out. Koshiba looked up at Isshiki in astonishment.

"Isshiki? What do you mean? Tell me what happened, dammit!" Isshiki calmed down slightly, staring at Koshiba before making a decision. Weird though it may seem, Isshiki _did_ occasionally have a reasonable streak in him and he felt that perhaps Koshiba, who loved Hina _almost_ as much as he did, had a right to know what had happened to her during her time in France.

Less than fifteen minutes later, a broken cup of tea graced the wooden floor in front of Koshiba has clenched his fist in an attempt to not destroy Isshiki's apartment. Raising his eyebrows, Isshiki mutely handed a dustpan and cloth to Koshiba, before going to the sink to thoroughly wash his hands. Koshiba sank to the ground, cleaning up the glass and tea as he furiously muttered acts of revenge involving a lot of blood and mutated bodies under his breath. He looked up as Isshiki came back into the room.

"We should never have let her go." he said darkly. Isshiki shook his head.

"We couldn't have stopped her. She would have killed us if tried anything drastic. And...although we wish we could, there is no way to control Hina. There is nothing we could have done." he replied bleakly. Koshiba sighed.

"Do...do you think she really has gotten over it? I mean, knowing Hina, she must have really...loved...this boy. For her to forget those feelings so easily... It's not like her." Isshiki simply gazed out the window. He had no reply for Koshiba.

* * *

Tuesday afternoon, Hina sat in Yutaka's bedroom, Ruu-chan beside her on the floor, Shirayuki Tsugumi, who had come very grudgingly at the behest of Ruu, sitting on Yutaka's bed. Hina was sitting with a frown on her face, her mind wandering back to Isshiki's reaction the day before. Noticing her distraction, Ruu gently tugged at her sleeve and smiled.

"What are you thinking of, Hina-chan?" Hina smiled back.

"Ah, it's nothing important. Just...just wondering if Kyou-chan had finished unpacking his stuff or not..." she lied lamely. Shirayuki raised her eyebrows.

"Come now, Hina-chan, you're not very good at lying." Shirayuki's personality had not changed much since high school. She was still, the gentle, compassionate girl she had always been on the outside, still the sly, devious creature she had always been on the inside. Hina looked up at her.

"Wh-what makes you think I'm lying?" she said, again, quite lamely.

"If nothing else, that stammer just gave it away." piped up Ruu. Hina laughed nervously.

"Well...you probably don't really want to hear it any-"

"Yes we do." Hina sighed.

"Fine. Yesterday...um..." At this point, Yutaka, who had gone to fetch tea and snacks, walked back into the room. Hina sighed in relief.

"Oh good, you've got takoyaki*****! I love takoyaki!"

"Stop trying to change the topic, Hina. What happened?" Yutaka glanced at Ruu and Shirayuki in surprise, before wisely deciding to ask later. Hina glanced nervously at Shirayuki, who had had a crush on Isshiki since elementary school, before continuing from before.

"Yesterday...I-Isshiki and I...went to a cafe. And...I told him something and he just...reacted in an unexpected way to it." Shirayuki looked sharply at Hina.

"What did you say to him?"

"Um...well, it's not that big a deal. I just...I started going out with a guy in France and he cheated on me. That's it." All three girls looked at her incredulously.

"You WHAT?" exclaimed Ruu-chan.

"He CHEATED on you?" exclaimed Yutaka, who had always believed that cheating on someone was one of the lowest things to do. Shirayuki, on the other hand, was glaring daggers at Hina.

"And you TOLD Isshiki this?" she almost screamed. Hina looked at Shirayuki with something bordering on fear. She had only seen the ex-vice president of Tokiwa High like this once before, and she had hoped she would never have to again.

"W-well, I didn't think it would upset him so badly he'd break his coffee cup..." Shirayuki let out a sigh of exasperation. She knew exactly why Isshiki had reacted so strongly, as did Ruu and Yutaka, but none of them were going to tell Hina that.

"Hina-chan...If...if it's not too painful...will you tell us what happened?" asked Ruu timidly. Hina smiled a little,

"There isn't much to tell." she said, and repeated the words she had told Isshiki yesterday. A short silence followed her words as Yutaka and Ruu gave her sympathetic looks, while Shirayuki simply frowned at the floor, wondering about Isshiki. As the girls sat in this way, a tall man in his mid-twenties walked into the room. One hand was casually inserting a cigarette into his mouth, while the other was stowing a lighter away in his pocket. He spoke as he came in,

"Ojyou***2**, your dad wishes to speak to y- oh. My apologies, I didn't realise you had company." His eyes widened as he realised who exactly was in the room.

"Hina-chan?" A huge grin was on Hina's face.

"Gou-kun!" she said as she quickly stood up and walked towards him. The grin was still plastered on her face as she snatched the cigarette out of Gou's mouth and squished into Yutaka's bin.

"I see your old habits haven't changed." she commented. Gou let out a laugh as he ruffled Hina's hair, replying,

"I see yours haven't either." Yutaka, who had been smiling slightly watching the reunion of the two, spoke up.

"Gou, you were saying something about my father?"

"Ah, yea, he said he wanted to speak to you immediately. Um...he's actually on the transmitter***3** right now..." he finished guiltily. Yutaka scowled and darted out the room, throwing behind a threat to fire Gou later. Gou laughed and settled himself on the floor with Ruu and Hina.

"It's not like she can really fire me, as I'm no longer her personal bodyguard." Hina looked up in curiosity.

"You're not?" she asked, "How come?" Gou grinned.

"Well, it's that no-good Nishizaki's fault, really." he started, "Things got a little narky after Blackie-kun, as I like to call him, started dating Ojyou. You see, he wasn't very happy to have m tagging along where ever they went and he made sure we knew that. Blackie-kun's complaints soon came to the notice of Oyabun***4**. He decided that if Nishizaki proved himself able to take care of Ojyou, he would promote me from being her bodyguard to his personal assistant. Blackie had to beat around thirty of Oyabun's best men before he was convinced, so now I'm under his direct command." Hina smiled.

"Good for you, Gou-kun, you got promoted." Gou laughed again.

"You're really one-of-a-kind Hina...Most people wouldn't be congratulating me for getting into the higher echelons of the mafia world. But that's just one of the things that makes you, you." As he said this, Yutaka walked back into the room, looking pale as a ghost. The others looked at her in concern.

"Yuta-chan?" Ruu spoke, concern in her voice. Yutaka abruptly sat down, staring at her friends.

"Dad...dad's decided he's had enough...He...he wants me to take over the Iijima Gang."

* * *

Isshiki sat in his chair, staring blankly at the spot where just recently there had been broken glass and cold tea. Koshiba left soon after cleaning up, knowing that Isshiki would say nothing more. After two years, Koshiba and Isshiki had come to know one another quite well and had become almost...friends. Both rivals in love, the two had started taking more and more notice of each other, secretly using their technological skills to run background checks and learn everything they could about the other. Soon their relationship had become less and less hostile as they received no direct contact from Hina; they were too busy worrying about what could have happened to her to bother pretending to be rivals anymore. They had spent many an hour in the last years coming up with all sorts of scenarios, but had been forced to stop spending so much time together when the combined forces of Gou, Yutaka and some mafia friends had stopped Koshiba and Isshiki at the airport, where they were planning on boarding a flight to France and scouring the whole country for their beloved Hina, sleeping in the streets if they had to. Of course, no one knew exactly what the two had been planning- it was a pure coincidence that Gou-kun had been at the airport, needing to catch a flight for some...business...and had spotted the two at the check-in counter for a flight to France with nothing but a couple of small bags each. He had immediately figured out that the two were planning on journeying to find Hina and had called the necessary forces to stop them. After this incident, a number of concerned persons had made sure they didn't spend a lot of time alone together, as no one was quite sure what other crazy scheme they might come up with.

But as amusing as the exploits of the duo might be, we must return to the present time, with Isshiki sitting in his chair, staring blankly at the spot where just recently there had been broken glass and cold tea. He had long ago given up trying to do any work, his mind still filled with Hina and her ex-boyfriend. He had been quite tempted to try formulating another plan with Koshiba, but had decided against it, knowing that somebody was bound to stop them. He finally sighed and lifted himself from his chair, shaking his head in an attempt to clear his mind. There was nothing he could about Hina or this mysterious boy who deserved to die, so he finally made his way to his bedroom, stumbling over a few stray clothes on the way and attempted to settle himself down for the night.

**

* * *

**

***Takoyaki is literally fried grill or octopus- I don't know much about food in Japan, so I don't know whether or not this is actually a snack food, but the only thing I could think of was this or Taiyaki (fish-shaped cake, usually filled with red bean paste)...**

***2 Ojyou is a respectful term meaning 'Young lady'**

*******3 ****The transmitter- Yutaka is speaking to her father via one of those cool TV things; like a giant webcam!**

***4**** Oyabun is the address used in Yakuza (Japanese mafia) world for the person in the top position- ie. the boss.**

**I feel this wasn't one of my best chapters...And Isshiki's exploits seem TOTALLY OOC at the end there, but it just kind of came out...But you know, when he's with Koshiba, I noticed for some reason he doesn't seem to be so...blank. So I thought that perhaps a couple of years of developing a friendship with Koshiba could reveal some weird inner-personality =P. Of course, no one but Koshiba knows what Isshiki's like under his calm expression, as Isshiki is very careful to hide it with anyone else. Anywayz, please read and review! Don't forget to point out any mistakes I may have made =).**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Three nonplussed girls and one very startled man stared back at Yutaka, before Shirayuki broke the silence.

"Wait, that means...you'd be the actual boss of a _mafia gang_? But that's totally insane! You're only eighteen now." Yutaka's face was still drained of all colour as she gave a bitter laugh and replied,

"As if that reasoning would work on my dad. He told me all about how he was forced to become the head when he was just fifteen years old...Something about grandfather training him up and pretending he was older than he really was."

"If Yutaka doesn't want to take over the gang, why can't she just refuse?" asked Hina, naively. Yutaka and Gou both laughed.

"There is no way for Ojyou to refuse. She has been trained since infancy to take over the Iijima Gang. Oyabun keeps throwing all sorts of secret attacks and attempted kidnappings at her in order to make her stronger." Gou answered. Hina's face was a picture a shock.

"Attacking...his own daughter?"

"Well no, not really. Just sending subordinates and telling them to _pretend _to attack her. Had Ojyou come to any real harm, their lives would have been forfeit."

"So then...what's the point of you as a bodyguard if Yutaka was meant to get stronger by protecting herself?" At this, Yutaka smiled.

"No one really knows how father's mind works...Most people are too scared to try and find out, or, in my case, just can't be bothered." For a moment, the three other girls could think of nothing to say. They all knew that Yutaka had never had any ambitions of taking over the Iijima Gang- in fact, she'd wanted absolutely nothing to do with it, always wishing that she could just live the life of a normal high school girl. After becoming friends with Ruu, she had reconciled herself to the fact that she would, one day, have to take over the gang, but at least she would always have friends by her side. However, she had never expected the day she would become Onna-Oyabun***** to arrive so quickly. Finally, Yutaka sighed and shook her head.

"I'm sorry about this, but I think that it is best you go home for now. I must go see my father now and sort this all out- I'll give you a call later, when I know exactly what is happening, ok?" Ruu, Shirayuki and Hina all nodded and said their goodbyes and were on their way home five minutes later.

It was late at night when Yutaka arrived back home, Gou still accompanying her. She had just spent a tiring four hours arguing with her father over the wisdom of making such a decision, because she was too young, to inexperienced, just plain _not ready_ to take over the gang; but all for nought. Her father had stubbornly refused to listen to all her explanations, pleas and threats and told her in no uncertain terms that in five days he was leaving Japan and she'd better be ready to become the head of the gang by then. Scowling, Yutaka distractedly told Gou he could leave and let herself into her room. It was quite some time later before she fell asleep, wondering how Nishizaki and Isshiki would react to the news.

***Onna-Oyabun= Female boss (best thing I could find for the female version of Oyabun- apparently there isn't really a word for it)**

* * *

It was around nine o'clock on Wednesday morning, the one day Isshiki had off from university every week. At the present time, said person could be found sitting at his desk, his mind buried in his work in an attempt to wrest it away from thoughts of Hina. However, his plan was foiled as his doorbell rang and he recalled the same thing happening on Monday. Sighing, Isshiki rose from his chair and navigated the forest of his apartment to open the door and find Yutaka standing outside it. Raising one eyebrow slightly, he stood aside and let her in, padding after her in his house slippers.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" he asked dryly. He had no problem with Yutaka visiting him unannounced- in fact was quite used to it- but the two had a standing joke between them and the same greeting was used each time Yutaka visited Isshiki's apartment without Nishizaki.

"I've got some big news for you, that's what." Isshiki's eyebrow rose higher, "Yesterday, my father intimated to me his plans of retirement…and me becoming the new head of the Iijima Gang." It was very rarely that Yutaka managed to render Isshiki weak with shock, but she took great delight in having done so in those rare instances- this case was no exception. A wide grin was visible on her face as she watched Isshiki sink into the chair opposite her and stare at her with wide eyes.

"What, seriously? You, head of the Gang?" And with that, he promptly burst into laughter- or at least, began chuckling with great gusto.

"What, you don't think I can do it?" Yutaka retorted indignantly.

"No, it's just hard to imagine you the boss of a mafia gang." Isshiki replied, still chuckling.

"Yea, Hina and the other girls thought so too." At the mention of Hina's name, Isshiki sobered up instantly, schooling his face into a blank look.

"You were with Hina yesterday?" he asked.

"She and a couple of others came over. You know, girl talk, that sort of stuff." Isshiki leant back in his chair slightly and looked away from Yutaka.

"What did you talk about?" he asked as casually as he could.

"Well, a few different things. You know, what happened here while she was gone, what she did in France…and what happened Monday morning." At this, Isshiki frowned, his body becoming stiff.

"You should probably go, Yutaka, I've got a lot of work to do." he said abruptly. Yutaka scowled back.

"No." Isshiki sighed, knowing she was in her stubborn mode.

"Please."

"No. I'm not going anywhere. We're going to talk about this, Isshiki." he looked at her, his face a picture of despair.

"I don't want to talk about it. It's all I've been thinking of as it is."

"You can't do anything what happened Isshiki. You can't protect Hina forever- she's a strong, independent girl, she wouldn't have let you do anything for her anyway."

"_Do you think I don't know that?_" Isshiki's words were hissed sharply, rage controlling his body, his feelings overflowing as he thought of his Hina being hurt, torn by some stranger and him not being able to do anything about it, helpless, powerless.

Yutaka gazed back at Isshiki coolly.

"No, I don't think you don't know that. But I do think you need to talk about it rationally with someone."

Isshiki looked back at Yutaka, his anger settling down, shame beginning to wash over him at the fact that he'd lost his cool, relief that it had only happened with Hina.

"Fine." he said, his non-committal tone nonetheless conveying his gratitude to Yutaka, "Let's talk."

**

* * *

Let me make my deepest, deepest apologies to any readers I still have left out there. I've had most of this chapter typed up for weeks and weeks, but life and lack of inspiration got in my way. In fact, I'm still not happy with it, but an enormous sense of guilt overcame me at three in the morning, and so I finished typing it up, despite the fact that my ungracious brain was thinking up the crappiest chapter. I know, I know, Isshiki and Yutaka are probably totally out of character- If anyone is able to, please supply me with suggestions on how to fix this for the future; to be perfectly honest, I can't really be bothered fixing this chapter (I know, I'm a horrible writer for it, but really…). Anywayz, please R&R to tell me how much you loved/hated this chapter!**

***BEGINSHAMELESSADVERTISING – PS. To any Narutards out there, please check out my other story, "The Name of the Game" =P – ENDSHAMELESSADVERTISING***


	6. Chapter 6 plus Extra

**Chapter 6**

Yutaka settled herself deeper into her chair, her head resting on the palm of her hand. Opposite her, Isshiki was sitting with his hands dangling between his legs, head bowed down. He looked so dejected and pitiable that she could not help but feel sympathetic for him. Seeking to break the heavy silence between them, she spoke.

"So you don't think Hina's really gotten over her feelings for this boy?" Isshiki's head lifted slightly as he replied.

"I don't really know. She hasn't really told any of us anything, which makes me think that she's more upset about it than she lets on. And Hina is the type who'd have to really…love…someone before she went out with them." For a long moment, Yutaka said nothing. Finally, she rose from her chair, stretching as she did so.

"I can understand why you'd be so upset, Isshiki, but I think that perhaps you're jumping to your own conclusions. I'd say get the whole story from Hina; if it still sounds bad, then you can mope around and be depressed."

"I'm not moping!"

"…"

* * *

Hina woke to the sound of her phone ringing loudly. Sighing, she picked it up and mumbled sleepily,

"Hello?"

"Hey, Piyoko, it's me."

"Koshiba?"

"Yea. Sorry, did I wake you?"

"S'okay. Did you need something?"

"Not really, just wondering if we could meet up for lunch or something. I've got a day off work, so you know, just thought it'd be nice to spend some time together."

"Yea, sure. Around 12:30, then?"

"Yep. See you soon!"

Koshiba sat at the small table in front of the street vendor's, anxiously awaiting Hina's arrival. He looked up as she came into view, panting slightly.

"Sorry I'm late, Koshiba! Kyou-chan…delayed me a little." Koshiba scowled slightly.

"That _ossan_***** delayed you, huh…" he muttered darkly. Hina whacked his head.

"Koshiba! Don't call him ossan!" Koshiba turned his head sideways, pouting slightly. Hina laughed at his expression.

"Koshiba… I told you before I left, didn't I? That I'd come back with my feelings sorted out. Well, while I was in France, I did a lot of thinking, about myself and what I felt, and…I realised why I was in love with Kyou-chan. It's because he was always there for me whenever I needed him to be, and he was the first man to do that for me. But after I grew up a little more, I came to love Kyou-chan as an important family member." Koshiba nodded, his pout gone, but his expression still grim.

"So you sorted out your feelings for your uncle…and fell in love with someone else instead." Hina looked at him in shock.

"You… How did you know?" Koshiba looked slightly guilty as he shifted his eyes away from Hina's.

"Isshiki told me."

"I-Isshiki?"

"Yea… I went to his apartment after you two met up and he told me what happened."

"You mean he actually talked to you?"

"Well, yea. Isshiki's changed a lot since you left, you know; he's become a lot more open with people."

"Yea, I've come to realise that in the few days I've been back." Koshiba smiled,

"Mostly Yutaka's influence, I think; those two have been pretty close for a while now... Wait, don't change the topic!" Hina smiled.

"I wasn't trying to change the topic, Koshiba. It's just… Well, there's nothing to talk about, is there? Isshiki already told you what happened."

"You told Isshiki almost nothing."

"There is nothing _to _tell, Koshiba. He cheated on me, so I ended it, that's all." Koshiba looked at her sharply, before turning away again, but not before Hina caught the look. Finally, she sighed.

"Alright. I'll tell you what really happened." Koshiba looked back in surprise, rising slightly.

"Are you sure? I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to…" Hina chuckled,

"Do you want to hear it or not?" Koshiba subsided back into his chair, nodding.

"Promise you won't interrupt?" Once again, Koshiba nodded. Hina took a deep breath and began talking.

***Ossan= A rude term for 'uncle'**

* * *

"I went to school for about a month after landing in France; the plan at that time had been for me to live in Paris, which is where Kyou-chan had his first exhibition, while he would complete his tour. Obviously that changed later, but that's beside the point."

"Anyway, while I was I was at school, I met a boy. He was really nice, always kind and gentle, and so understanding; but I never thought of him as anything more than a friend. A couple of days after I met him, he told me he had some terminal illness and only had a year or so to live. He never really gave me the details of the illness, but I didn't want to pry and upset him, so I didn't ask. Not too long after that, he confessed to me, saying he'd fallen in love at first sight and he would be able to die happy if I would be his girlfriend. I felt so sorry for him that I agreed."

"I felt bad about dating him even though I didn't feel that way, but after a while, I convinced myself that I loved him. Two weeks later I found out it was all a lie. He never had any disease, he'd just made it up to get me, and several other girls at the same time, to go out with him; to be honest, I was quite relieved to be able to dump him. Anyway, that's basically what happened."

For a moment, Koshiba was too shell-shocked to speak. Then,

"You mean you never actually fell in love with him?" Hina shrugged.

"No, not really."

"Then…what the _hell_ was up with that bullshit you told Isshiki?"

"I don't know…I guess…I was a little ashamed to tell him at the time, I don't know why. I didn't realise he'd react so strongly." Koshiba sighed and let his head fall forward onto the table with a bang.

"You never fell in love…" he muttered, hiding the grin forming on his face.

**

* * *

Extra**

It was ten o'clock on a bright Sunday morning. Outside, birds were chirping, children were playing and happy couples could be found strolling around the park. At this particular time, a certain young man, by the name of Isshiki, could be found…sleeping.

For Isshiki to be still sleeping at ten in the morning was quite unusual, but it could not be helped, considering the events of the previous night. Isshiki had, as usual, been dutifully working on an assignment when, around eight o'clock, a knock at the door distracted him. Opening it revealed what appeared to be a rather drunk Nishizaki, who then proceeded to enter the apartment and spend a full three hours roundly abusing Isshiki for his complete lack of emotion, before subsiding into hiccups and the occasional grumble at the fact that his girlfriend was now the head of a mafia gang, while he no longer had even one measly underling. It was almost three in the morning before Isshiki managed to successfully kick out his ex-stepbrother and crawl gratefully into bed.

And now, back to 10 o'clock on Sunday morning and a sleeping Isshiki.

*DING _dong_*

Well, a half awake Isshiki.

* * *

Groaning, Isshiki stumbled out of bed, slipping his feet into his house slippers. Had he been more awake, he might have remembered to smooth his hair a little and put on his shirt before opening the door; but he didn't. We cannot, therefore, blame Hina for bursting out into laughter as soon Isshiki opened his door. Now completely awake, Isshiki mumbled an, "Oh, it's you" and moved aside to let her in, blushing _very _slightly. He moved at lightning speed to make himself presentable while Hina settled herself on the couch, still giggling. Coming back into the room, he looked at her inquiringly.

"Did you need something, Hina?" he asked. Hina grinned back at him.

"No, I don't. I came here to clean up your apartment." Isshiki looked at her uncomprehendingly.

"You what?"

"I came to clean up your apartment. It's an absolute mess and I'm determined to straighten the place out." Isshiki's eyes widened slightly in horror.

"My apartment is fine! You don't need to worry about it, I like it this way." he said desperately, taking a step forward…and slipping on a stray shirt. Mentally cursing, he stood up again, trying to block out Hina's peals of laughter. Slipping once again on a shirt behind him, he gave up with a sigh.

"Do what you will." he muttered resignedly, and Hina smiled in triumph.

**Two hours later**

"Isshiki, really! Do you have to be so fussy about _one wrinkle_? Two hours and all we've managed to do is fold four shirts and dust the windows! Will you just sit in one spot and let me work?" Grumbling, Isshiki sat back at his desk and attempted to ignore the 'destruction' Hina was wreaking on his apartment.

**Ten minutes later**

"Hina!"

"What?"

"Well…that's…a personal piece of clothing." Hina looked at the item in question in confusion.

"It's a pair of shorts. So what?"

"Those aren't shorts." Hina looked at the item in question in _horror_. Then threw it away from her with a yell.

**Three hours later**

Hina straightened herself with a sigh of relief and looked around the now sparkling clean apartment, gazing at the visible floor appreciatively. Behind her, Isshiki was eyeing both her and his apartment with some wonder. He had not seen it properly since he had first moved in, and he had to admit he rather liked being able to move without having to navigate most of his wardrobe.

"Well, I'd better get going now." said Hina. Isshiki nodded.

"Alright then." Frowning slightly at his response, Hina made her way to the door. She was about to close it behind her when Isshiki called out.

"Hina!" She turned around, eyebrows slightly raised in question.

"Thank you." Grinning, she turned back, throwing her reply over her shoulder.

"You're welcome, Isshiki."

**

* * *

Ok, so I know there's no excuse for the extreme lateness of this update . All I can do is apologise sincerely to everyone out there who's still actually reading this. I added on that little extra in the hope that you might forgive me =D. It's got nothing to do with the actual plotline, it's just a random thing I thought of a while ago and have been waiting to type up ^^. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter, and once again, my apologies for the delay!**


	7. Author's Note

**Hello to anyone out there still reading this,**

**I'm extremely sorry to disappoint you, but this is not a new chapter. This is an author's note to convey my deepest apologies because I am completely unsatisfied with this story, meaning a lot of people out there probably are as well. However, take heart, if you did like this story; I am not abandoning it completely, simply putting it on hiatus until I find the time, patience and inspiration to rewrite it. Once again, I am very sorry to disappoint you, but hope you will come back to it in the future!**

**~Kinetic Sleeper**


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